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Daniel Kajmakoski

© EBU/Andres Putting

About

Quick Facts

Name
Daniel Kajmakoski-Gragevinac

Born
17 October 1983

Nationality
🇲🇰 North Macedonian

National Selection
Skopje Fest 2015

In Eurovision
2015 Vienna

Song
Autum Leaves (2015)

Biography

Daniel Kajmakoski is a North Macedonian singer and songwriter. He was born on October 17, 1983, in Struga, specifically in the village of Mislesevo. At the age of 7, he relocated to Vienna, Austria, along with his family.
 
Daniel began participating in various competitions, making his debut at the age of 17, reaching the top 12. In 2009, he had his first performance in North Macedonia at the Ohrid Fest with the self-composed and self-written song “Nežna ko princeza” (“Gentle Like a Princess”). He also took part in the Bulgarian show Pej S’men. After returning to Vienna, he found employment but continued to pursue his passion for music. In 2010, he joined Thomas Raber’s One-Worl-Projekt, which was one of the candidates to represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, although it did not make it to the final show. In 2011, he wrote a song for Karolina Gočeva titled “Ne se vraćaš” (“Don’t You Return”), which became a huge hit in North Macedonia and the Balkans.
 
In 2013, Daniel Kajmakoski participated in the auditions for the inaugural season of X Factor Adria. For his initial audition, he chose to perform the song “Red” by Daniel Merriweather, captivating everyone with his performance. As the competition progressed, Daniel’s talent and abilities shone through, ultimately leading him to victory on March 23, 2014.
 

Daniel Kajmakoski had the honor of representing Macedonia at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015, which took place in Vienna, Austria. He was chosen as the national representative after winning the Skopje Fest 2014. His song “Lisja esenski” impressed the international jury, earning him second place, while winning first place in the public televote, ultimately securing his victory in the competition. At the Eurovision Song Contest he sang the English version “Autumn Leaves”. Unfortunately, he did not reach the final. 

Additionally, on May 22, 2016, Daniel emerged as the winner of the third season of Tvoje lice zvuči poznato (the Serbian version of “Your Face Sounds Familiar”). Throughout the season, he delivered captivating performances, embodying various artists such as Rammstein, Gibonni, Karolina Gočeva, Prince, and more. In the end, he claimed the victory by emulating Måns Zelmerlöw. At the DAF BAMA Music Awards he won the prize for best North Macedonian act.

In November 2018, Kajmakoski performed at a Toše Proeski tribute concert. All his performanceswere with the Blackberries Band. He did a tour throughout Montenegro in 2019. He also performed in Belgrade and Sarajevo in early 2020.

Entries

Autumn Leaves

Country
🇲🇰 North Macedonia

Year
2015

Language
English

Lyrics
Joacim Persson

Music
Joacim Persson
Robert Bilbilov

Backings
Mark Middleton
Eric Williams
Jeremy Hanna

Results Semi

Points: 28
Position: 15
Running order: 8

Results Finals

Points: –
Position: –
Running order: –